Chapter 139: Whisperer: Mount Tai Crushing Down

Seeing that the two One-Star Players in the group remained silent, Li Zhitong chuckled lightly.

His smile was like a flower blooming in Hell, beautiful and deadly, as he reached for his Liar-Slayer.

Under the terrified gazes of the crowd, he slowly raised the gun, pointing it at the ceiling of the carriage.

"Whisperer: Mount Tai Crushing Down."

Logically speaking, using a skill required sacrificing an opportunity for a Guaranteed Judgment.

Even if he was a Whisperer, the Deceiver's Tongue had already been broken, and the person who told the lie was dead. It should have been impossible for him to use a skill, and yet...

Inside the carriage and out on the platform, all the light completely vanished, plunging everything into pitch blackness.

In the darkness, everyone felt as if their minds had been viciously struck by a blunt weapon. The soul-deep agony instantly drained the color from the players' faces, accompanied by a deafening ringing in their ears.

Urgh!

The very next moment came the thuds of bodies collapsing to the floor.

When the lights finally flickered back on.

Among the fifteen people, the four One-Star Players from Lin Xiuyuan's and Li Zhitong's teams were all sprawled on the ground, foaming at the mouth and violently convulsing.

The rest of the Two-Star Players were half-kneeling, cold sweat seeping from their foreheads as they gasped heavily for air. They swayed unsteadily, their mental faculties severely overdrawn.

Lin Xiuyuan's lips were pale. Though he was still standing, his legs trembled uncontrollably.

Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong closed their eyes and gave their heads a slight shake. The ringing in their ears faded, though a dull, throbbing ache still lingered in their minds.

The three Three-Star Players stood there as if nothing had happened, watching the scene unfold with keen interest. However, when their gazes landed on Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong...

They were profoundly shaken!

'These two...'

Li Zhitong took a long, deep look at Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong before turning his attention to the fallen players.

"Do not think you can leave this Instance alive just by keeping your mouths shut. There is no such easy thing in this world. Refusing to fight can get you killed just as easily."

"Heh, you had better pray that no one else tells a lie in this Instance. Otherwise, if you get hit by that again, your minds might completely shatter."

Lin Xiuyuan's eyes went wide with fury. Watching his two One-Star teammates twitching and foaming on the floor, he gripped his gun, looking around in utter bewilderment.

'I know it. Someone in Li Zhitong's team must have fed him a lie in advance.'

'A Slave!'

'That has to be it. One of his teammates is his Slave.'

'The Slave provided him with a lie. That is the only way he could have activated a skill.'

'Damn it, I have absolutely no idea which of the three is his Slave!'

'And the worst part is the four One-Star Players on the ground. Their minds took a massive hit, and they are likely in a complete daze right now. If Li Zhitong tricks them into telling a lie, we are entirely screwed...'

'How can there be such an overpowered skill?'

'There is one more thing.'

'Why did he choose to use the skill now? Why not earlier?'

'Is it possible that his skill has a secondary effect?'

Before he could finish his train of thought, Li Zhitong waved the incredibly ordinary pistol in his hand. "Regarding the previous proposal, who is in favor, and who is against?"

Saying that, he slowly approached the four fallen players. Seeing this, everyone's hearts skipped a beat. They scrambled to their feet and blocked his path, terrified he would pull out a common-sense item to trick the four into telling a lie.

About 30 minutes later, the four grounded players slowly stood up. They were completely drenched in sweat, their steps unsteady and their eyes devoid of life.

When they looked at Li Zhitong, it was as if they were looking at a monster. They huddled together, shrinking back into the corner.

"You four suffered the most severe mental damage. Do you know why?"

"My skill scales with the willpower of the victim. The weaker your willpower, the worse the damage."

"You were scared. You were terrified of dying in this Instance, so you cowered away, thinking you could just survive until the end by keeping quiet."

Now, the players present finally understood why Li Zhitong's Bounty was so astronomically high.

A mental-attack skill!

An actual offensive skill!

It bypassed the protection of the Liar-Slayer! Thank god it was only a mental attack, and his skill was only at the Id Tier. If it were higher...

It was unimaginable.

"I will ask one more time. The previous proposal: who is in favor, and who is against?" he said, raising the Liar-Slayer in his hand.

Seeing the four One-Star Players hovering on the brink of a mental breakdown, no one dared to voice any opposition, terrified he would coax a lie out of the fragile four.

Soon enough.

All fifteen people spoke a Future Lie: At every station, they would take turns sending one person out for half an hour to inspect the iron bucket, bringing it back if it contained gasoline. Chen Ran would be the first. No one was allowed to block the carriage doors; if a Three-Star Player blocked the doors, the time limit would be paused.

Lin Xiuyuan's expression darkened. He finally understood why Li Zhitong had insisted on pushing this proposal through.

If someone figured out how to break the current deadlock, Li Zhitong had a massive weapon on his side. If he wanted to choose the safe platform, who would dare stop him?

Anyone who dared to interfere would just have a lie forced out of the mentally collapsing One-Star Players.

Four mental attacks...

Who could possibly survive that?

In other words, from the moment the Future Lie was spoken, Chen Ran and Li Zhitong were basically in an invincible position.

'Right!'

'Chen Ran's skill...'

'I have read his file. It supposedly bans players from using skills for an hour.'

'But it all comes down to reaction speed. If Chen Ran is too slow on the draw, it is utterly useless.'

'Damn it, could his skill not just have an innate priority effect?'

The iron bucket was empty.

After a brief thought, he grabbed the bucket and headed back, only to suddenly spot Li Zhitong standing at the carriage door, flashing him an eerie smile.

He watched as Li Zhitong fished a glass bead out of his pocket and tossed it high into the air.

The crowd then saw Chen Ran's expression shift from confusion to shock, slowly twisting into sheer terror. He involuntarily stumbled back a few steps, raising his right arm to shield his head as if something was about to crush him.

But soon, he closed his eyes and took a step forward. Each step seemed as heavy as Mount Tai as he slowly walked toward the door. However, right at that moment...

Clack! Clack-clack!

The glass bead hit the floor, and Chen Ran sprang backward like a startled bird.

But after retreating two steps, he realized something was wrong. Closing his eyes again, he walked step by step through the door and returned to the carriage.

His face was deathly pale. He crouched down, bracing his hands against the floor as he gasped heavily for breath.

Once he recovered, Chen Ran looked up at Li Zhitong, the killing intent in his eyes practically materializing into physical form.

For the first time, he felt such an intense, overwhelming urge to kill someone. He gritted his teeth and snarled, "You! Very well!"

Little did he know.

Li Zhitong was starting to doubt his own reality. His skill was the ultimate weapon against weaker opponents, yet Chen Ran's performance shattered his expectations time and time again.

'Could this guy have already touched the threshold of the Id without even coming into contact with a Mental Cultivation Method?'

Reeling in his thoughts.

He asked with a beaming smile, "What exactly did you see just now to be scared like that?"

Chen Ran remained silent.

Because he had a gut feeling that if he spoke, there was a high probability he would commit a Common Sense Lie.

At the same time, his gaze swept over Li Zhitong's three teammates.

'As long as I can determine which of those three fed Li Zhitong the lie, I can use the undisclosed effects of the Eternal Kingdom to trick a lie out of him.'

'A mental-attack skill like this is basically a glitch in the system. He has to die!'